10 True Grit

“I said, ‘They tell me you are a man with true grit’(59)”.

A theme of the novel is bravery. Throughout the novel, Mattie’s courage is tested repeatedly, each time helping her to get stronger and stronger for when the climax occurs with her in a hole with a broken arm surrounded by snakes. She wants a man with “true grit”, someone that will be tough enough to catch Tom Chaney and bring him back to hang. But Portis shows the irony of it all, because she, of course, has the most “grit” out of anyone in the novel, always being treated with respect because she is confident and tough, and able to accomplish anything. She is the most courageous and tough character, and yet she is in search or one.